1. Technical Field
The technology disclosed in the present application relates to an imaging device housing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Imaging device housings comprising a plurality of metal panels have been proposed in the past. For example, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application H6-78191) discusses a video camera comprising an upper case and lower case formed by bending PVC steel sheets obtained by covering the outer surface of sheet steel with PVC, a chassis formed by bending sheet steel, and so forth.
However, since the various parts in Patent Document 1 are formed by bending sheet steel, it is difficult to make the housing strong enough. Adequate housing strength can be ensured by increasing the thickness of the parts, but this does not increase strength very efficiently, and ends up increasing the overall weight of the housing more than necessary. Increasing sheet thickness is therefore not a practical solution.
In view of these concerns over strength and weight, a manufacturing method has been employed in recent years in which the various parts of a housing are formed by casting. With casting, ribs can be provided where necessary for added strength, and this allows the required strength to be ensured.
However, because casting entails the use of a mold, removal from the mold has to be taken into account, and this increases the number of parts. More parts means more assembly steps, so this drives up the manufacturing cost.